Get a Wire-Free Desk: Taut Cables & Velcro

Here at Unplggd, we're always trying to get our workplace as uncluttered as possible. One of the biggest problems with this process include finding innovative ways of dealing with the mess of cables that is running around underneath our desks. It's not always easy and you have to work at it in order to get a clean desk, one that promotes productivity.

Over the years, there have been some pretty interesting ways of dealing with cluttered wires. Some of them were quite easy while others were elaborate. Once you've managed to untangle the wires, it's time to get creative. In a perfect world, there wouldn't be any wires, or only one or two. However, no matter how hard we try, there are still a lot of cables involved in any workstation.

Connor Monsees decided that he had had enough of his wires and wanted to get a wire-free look. For this to happen, he had to get all of his cables off the ground. This was a challenge. All of the cables had to be pulled taut so that they wouldn't sag and create a visual mess. Once this was done, he used Velcro ties to ensure that they all stayed together.

His cables are run through an opening in his desk and go to a power strip underneath. Before, he had a big wooden monitor stand, that took up a lot of space. This was another way to hide the cables, but ultimately he decided to go with a more minimal footprint. There isn't a single wire apparent from the front of his desk, which is something nice to have when you're working with a multi-monitor workstation.

Instead of leaving peripherals just strewn about his desk, he decided to get inventive. He hid his USB hub, which included the receiver to his wireless mouse, under his Logitech speaker. He used adhesive pads to get the job done. This means that it allows easy access to all three USB ports, and a clear path to the wireless receiver for his mouse, which is slightly hidden by the width of the speaker. He did something similar to his multi-card reader. It's shoved into the base of the speaker. The wire is tied to the speaker wire using a twist tie. The two wires are then connected by electrical tape to make it look like a single wire.

The way his desk is placed makes it somewhat awkward for LED light strips and even if it didn't, the wood might not work well with the strips, which is why the best way of tackling the light situation would be with two simple table lamps, situated on each corner of his somewhat large desk to keep things symmetrical. Additional storage could be added using extra shelves. We'd replace his shelves with long floating shelves, one next to each other until they hit the wall. A lighter color could contrast well with the desk. LED strips or spots could be placed upon this to serve as ambient light.